Okinawan sanshin build

[lbridenstine]

Thanks everyone.

I luckily have been able to avoid wenge splinters so far. I hope it stays that way.

This is going to be a (very large) pick.

I glued the camphor in after the picture was taken. I'll sand/shape it soon.

I did a little more sanding. The neck scares me because it's so tiny.

I got most of that rectangle cut out in the peg head, it needs to be cleaned up more and I need to do the nut slot.

I still need to joint the claro walnut and figure out how I'm going to make the bridge.

 

[JennySuzuki]

I can't believe how well those tuning pegs turned out! Wowsers! Your plectrum will be interesting to watch, as well. I'm not familiar with the Okinawan version you're building, but the traditional Japanese plectrum is longer than that.

 

[Bisounourse]

Here's how I see your options regarding the back and/or sound hole or f hole(s) (like a violin):

If it is a closed body with a stiff back, then air is trapped inside and acts as a strong, stiff spring which inhibits the motion of the top (making the sound very soft). This would be like a closed or sealed speaker design, which takes a lot more power to drive effectively (but has other advantages in a speaker).

So, in this case, you would need a sound hole or f hole(s) like a violin to allow the air inside to escape and not inhibit the top movement. The sound hole could be on the side or the back; it doesn't necessarily have to be on the top. This is like a ported speaker design.

I might not be correct; but in this case, would'nt the instrument also need a 'soul' (a little piece of wood that connects the top of the instrument with the back of the instrument)? (I don't know the word in English, sorry).

But a great build... and subbed.

 

[Canadian APII]

Beautifull. I wonder how one would look and sound if "modern" parts and techniques were used? For example Western guitar or banjo tuners. I'm thinking a less expensive instrument that could be accepted by the younger crowd to bring the traditional sound into modern music.

 

[JoeDeF]

I might not be correct; but in this case, would'nt the instrument also need a 'soul' (a little piece of wood that connects the top of the instrument with the back of the instrument)? (I don't know the word in English, sorry).

Hi Bisounourse,

The word in English is "soundpost." Typically, Western bowed stringed instruments have a soundpost. Other Western stringed instruments like archtop guitars, flattop guitars, and mandolins, do not. Even in the instruments that do not have a soundpost, the back still vibrates; while playing, if you tightly hug the back of a guitar (for instance), it will make a much more muffled sound than if you hold it loosely, allowing the back to vibrate.

In the bowed violin family instruments, the soundpost acts both as a support for the top (to counteract the downforce created by the strings pushing on one leg of the bridge; the bass bar supports the other bridge leg) and as a fulcrum or node for some of the top's vibrational modes. While it certainly must transmit some vibrations to the back, I don't think that most informed modern luthiers and acousticians would describe that as its main function.

 

[lbridenstine]

I can't believe how well those tuning pegs turned out! Wowsers! Your plectrum will be interesting to watch, as well. I'm not familiar with the Okinawan version you're building, but the traditional Japanese plectrum is longer than that.

Thanks! The Okinawan version is more like these.

Link Removed

But, when we got the sanshin we have now, it came with something more like an oversized guitar pick, which is basically what I'm making, although the shape will be different.

But a great build... and subbed.

Thanks!

Beautifull. I wonder how one would look and sound if "modern" parts and techniques were used? For example Western guitar or banjo tuners. I'm thinking a less expensive instrument that could be accepted by the younger crowd to bring the traditional sound into modern music.

Check these out: Link Removed

 

[lbridenstine]

So close. So close. So close.

I'm thinking 2 more (woodworking) days before I dye the maple, then start finishing... Three at most. I asked my mom if she wants satin or glossy and she said satin, so heck yeah, tung oil. I feel like it'd probably be weird glossy anyway.

I made these.

I love the bridge except for the fact that it broke when I was trying to drill out that top/center area. On the bright side, the fact that it broke made it so I could just cut that area out with the bandsaw and glue it back together.

I decided to go with the guitar pick shape instead of leaving that the same as the tailpiece. She already tried playing with it and she said she likes it better than what she's been using. It sounds the same too.


I used a rasp and sandpaper to make the end pin round. It would have been easier to have done that on the lathe with the rest of that stick, but I was planning on making the hole in the tailpiece square to fit. It didn't take too long though and it fits good. The tailpiece needs 3 small holes for the strings to tie through, the bridge and nut need string slots and to have the heights checked/adjusted.

I tried to clean this up with the Dremel and it came out not so clean. Close enough to sand though. I did the nut slot too.

I used the router and a straight edge to joint these.

And now they're glued.

Aside from the stuff I already mentioned, I still have to drill the holes for the tuner pegs, cut out the walnut to the shape of the body and test it before gluing on the walnut, and sanding. I'm pretty sure that's it.

 

[lbridenstine]

I ended up making a new bridge. The other one was way too tall and trying to cut it shorter just made another piece break off. I didn't do the rectangular cut out area this time, so that should help.

I kinda screwed up the spacing on the string holes... I suppose I could make a new tailpiece, it didn't take long to make this one.

Drilling the holes for these was kind of nerve wracking and for good reason. First, having to get the holes on opposite sides to line up with each other (which didn't actually turn out too bad). Then, the inside part of the cutout chipping out with every hole... I ended up widening the cutout afterwards. Then the left side where the two exit holes and one entrance hole are all very close to each other, that kind of turned into one long hole.

It pretty much sounds like an acoustic guitar with a different string material.

It actually sounds better with the back on than off, so that's good. It's not super quiet or anything, so I don't think I'll need to do any sound hole/f-holes.

We didn't get to get it tuned all the way. The low string tuned up fine. The middle one has a peg that slips when it gets up to the right tension and the high string just kept coming out of the string hole in the peg. The last thing shouldn't be a big deal, I can just tie the string around the peg or tie a knot on the end of the string. I'm thinking I'll coat the inside of the holes with a thin layer of superglue, maybe that will give it extra traction. I also have peg oil (made for stringed instruments for pretty much this exact purpose), so I can put some on the pegs if needed.

Does anyone have any other ideas in case those two things don't do the trick? I'm a little worried that the 3 holes turning into 1 hole on the left side could be the reason why that peg is slipping... but then again it seems to still have a tight fit, so maybe not.

 

[Marcury]

Sweeet! Nice job.

 

[GrumpiusMaximus]

For peg slipping, traditionally you'd put a little rosin on the peg.

At least that's what I was told to do with my violin.

 

[lbridenstine]

I glued on the walnut last night and rounded it over and sanded today.

The back has a snake face! We're going to say it's a habu since there's a bunch of those in Okinawa.

I forgot I said a long time ago that I was going to take a picture of my mom's songbook. Here it is.

So anyway, I started making a new tailpiece, but I like the current one better, so I think I'll just fill the center hole with black epoxy and re-drill that one in the correct location.

The super glue in the peg holes and peg oil on the pegs worked. The only problem is that the peg for the high string sits up against the middle one, so if I turn the middle one, it makes the high one come loose. Doing the middle one first works fine.

I almost forgot that she wants abalone side dots. I have to do that and now she also wants the bridge a little higher and the bridge glued to the top, so I'm probably going to put a thin piece of maple under the bridge and glue that on for now, I'll glue the bridge to that after I'm done with the tung oil. I'm not putting finish on any of the wenge. It looks better without.

 

[ICM]

Wow, that is looking just great with the front on now!

 

[Hopkins]

The neck looks like its dead centered on the body, and the dowel coming out of the back looks centered as well. How come the string holes in the tail piece are skewed to the right of the tail piece and not centered? I have this OCD thing when it comes to symmetry

 

[lbridenstine]

Wow, that is looking just great with the front on now!

Huge difference from before.

The neck looks like its dead centered on the body, and the dowel coming out of the back looks centered as well. How come the string holes in the tail piece are skewed to the right of the tail piece and not centered? I have this OCD thing when it comes to symmetry

The maple on this is soft and sands way too quickly and the left side of the neck ended up being sanded in a bit too far. The bridge goes a little tiny bit to the right of the center-line to compensate.

 

[Hopkins]

Just a suggestion, I would reshape the tail piece to where it is offset slightly so the strings are centered. I think it would look much better that way.

 

[mapleglo]

This looks great! I love the grain on the front and back pieces. I'm hoping you'll post sound clips when it's done. I'm very interested in hearing how this sounds.

 

[HaMMerHeD]

Looks great. I think filling and redrilling the tail piece will help a lot.

 

[Hopkins]

The build looks great by the way. I wasn't trying to come off as rude or anything like that. like I said before, I am OCD when it comes to symmetry.

 

[lbridenstine]

This looks great! I love the grain on the front and back pieces. I'm hoping you'll post sound clips when it's done. I'm very interested in hearing how this sounds.

I'll try to. It sounds much more like an acoustic guitar than a sanshin. Yesterday when we got it tuned up, she tried using the pick I made, the sanshin plectrum, and a guitar pick and the guitar pick ended up working/sounding the best.

Looks great. I think filling and redrilling the tail piece will help a lot.

Just a suggestion, I would reshape the tail piece to where it is offset slightly so the strings are centered. I think it would look much better that way.

The build looks great by the way. I wasn't trying to come off as rude or anything like that. like I said before, I am OCD when it comes to symmetry.

Thanks. Yeah, I know. I'm not sure exactly how to shape it to make the strings centered on the tailpiece without having the strings from the bridge to the tailpiece being at an angle. Any ideas?

 

[Hopkins]

I would offset the shape of it a little bit. Excuse the terrible paint drawing, but something like the image I attached. You could just sand down the left side until the strings are string holes are centered.